Former Google Executive Says Investment in Gojek Unrelated to Kemendikbud

JAKARTA - Scott Beaumont, former President of Google Asia Pacific, has clarified that Google’s investment in the parent company of Gojek, PT Aplikasi Karya Anak Bangsa (AKAB), was not linked to any communications with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbud), formerly led by Nadiem Makarim.

Beaumont made this statement while serving as a character witness for Nadiem in the trial concerning allegations of corruption in the procurement of Chromebook-based laptops.

“There is absolutely no connection between Google’s investment in GoTo and any discussions with the Ministry of Education,” said Beaumont, who appeared via video link at the Jakarta Corruption Court on Monday (20/4/2026).

PT AKAB officially changed its name to PT Gojek Tokopedia (GoTo) following the merger between Gojek and Tokopedia.

Throughout the trial, Google’s investment in Gojek has been scrutinised as it is considered one form of collusion between Nadiem and Google, the owner of the Chromebook product.

According to the indictment, Google’s total investment in PT AKAB, or Gojek’s parent company, amounted to US$786 million from 2017 to 2021.

Separately, Nadiem is accused of being enriched by Rp 809 billion in the form of share investments from Google to a Gojek-affiliated company.

Nadiem is accused of enriching himself by Rp 809 billion.

This figure is said to stem from Google’s investment in Gojek or PT AKAB.

Meanwhile, Mulyatsyah is alleged to have received S$120,000 and US$150,000.

Nadiem is said to have abused his authority, making Google the sole controller of ICT procurement, including laptops, in Indonesia’s technology ecosystem.

This was done by directing procurement studies towards a single product, namely Chrome-based devices, which are Google’s products.

For their actions, Nadiem and the other defendants are threatened with Article 2 Paragraph (1) and Article 3 in conjunction with Article 18 of Law No. 31 of 1999 as amended and supplemented by Law No. 20 of 2001 on Amendments to Law No. 31 of 1999 on the Eradication of Criminal Acts of Corruption, in conjunction with Article 55 Paragraph (1) first of the Criminal Code.